Thiago Alcantara

Still think he would be a great CM dir us, IF we even want to play Barca Style again. He isn't anywhere near Xavi obviously but who is? The best CMs for us would probably be Kroos and Modric but they play for Madrid. Besides that you don't really find world class always delivering playmakers. De Bruyne or Silva are more AM but could play it as Pep shows. But even then lost hard to hard and they have Pep instead of Valverde. Verratti? Even better than Thiago IMO but also not deciding a big game after the other. Eriksen also isn't deciding one big game after the other and is more of the AM side as well. Saul and Koke are great, not really playmakers but for us quite well but also both impossible to get. Pjanic? Good player, bit also not perfect. In the end all of them are like 100M+ while not proven on that level.

Thiago plays like idk how to call it, arrogant? At least it looks like that, just not 100% focused on every pass but besides that he has everything a Barca CM needs to have.

The problem with every CM is we cant expect another Xavi or some sort of savior, one player cant solve our midfield alone it's also about the other players and tactics but i'm sure it would work AND look way better with Thiago instead of Gomes, Roberto, Denis, Paulinho etc

But in the end this is pointless, the only chance to get Thiago back at a reasonable price would be Bayern wanting him out but i don't see that happening and even then we would probably watch him go to City or United while we snatch some mediocre la liga player for 40M or ignore the midfield once again.

I would take Vidal over Thiago any day. And why the fuck are Barca fans still banging on about Xavi. He's gone and no one can replace a player like him. Totally unique.
Verratti is the closest thing to Xavi but he's a pussy so forget it.

Too many Barca fans are stuck in the past. It's time to move on. We need a competent manager first. I am sick of spending 100 "million plus on players and then exiting cl at qf stage.

we've been trying for too long to replace a legendary player with someone who doesn't exist

we laugh off the "next messi" comparisons because we know it's so unrealistic and hardly means anything but people still look for the next xavi, yeah they are two different classes of legendary players.. like for every messi it takes lets say 40 years, i think for every xavi it takes 10-20 years to find a suitable comparative player and us labeling thiago or verrati as "the next xavi" was just out of desperation.

Thiago was horrible yesterday as usual, did nothing and gave a ton of misplaced passes and lost balls. Don't know what's the huge hype around him in this forum. Not to mention he's extremely injury prone just like that Bayer squad

Amazing talent but 2 big issues. Injuries and doesnt know how to go through the gears when the game needs it. It is all a bit one paced regardless of the situation.

No matter what you call it you still need players that can pass and create chances. Especially at Barca, adjust all you want but that's still what we're going for? At least in theory, i'm pretty sure nobody wants to see Mourinho football at Camp Nou. Just because Xavi was the best playmaker ever doesn't mean we should just stick to mediocre work horses forever because nobody is on his level.

A new playmaker doesn't need to be "the next Xavi" or some bullshit, but he should know what to do with the ball and not play like Gomes or Paulinho in build up. We lost so much passing quality and football IQ with the end of Iniestas and Xavis careers here and that's impossible to fully compensate but there is something between "Rakitic is the best and only reliable CM in the whole squad" and a player that is exactly like Xavi.

MTL_Barca said:

No matter what you call it you still need players that can pass and create chances. Especially at Barca, adjust all you want but that's still what we're going for? At least in theory, i'm pretty sure nobody wants to see Mourinho football at Camp Nou. Just because Xavi was the best playmaker ever doesn't mean we should just stick to mediocre work horses forever because nobody is on his level.

A new playmaker doesn't need to be "the next Xavi" or some bullshit, but he should know what to do with the ball and not play like Gomes or Paulinho in build up. We lost so much passing quality and football IQ with the end of Iniestas and Xavis careers here and that's impossible to fully compensate but there is something between "Rakitic is the best and only reliable CM in the whole squad" and a player that is exactly like Xavi.

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I agree but Thiago is very injury prone to be even similar to Xavi or Iniesta..plus he doesn't have the necessary defensive self discipline, too light weight i feel..

shadows said:

I agree but Thiago is very injury prone to be even similar to Xavi or Iniesta..plus he doesn't have the necessary defensive self discipline, too light weight i feel..

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Was more a general statement and not so much about Thiago. I don't understand the mindset that just because there is no player like Xavi it isn't worth to have a playmaker in midfield or try to control the ball in general.

I think Arthur is a good start, nobody knows if he will make it here but at least he seems to be a type of player we are lacking. Add another, more proven, player and get Gomes out and never start Paulinho ever again and things in midfield look way better.

Not necessarily Thiago tho, but any player of this type.

MTL_Barca said:

Was more a general statement and not so much about Thiago. I don't understand the mindset that just because there is no player like Xavi it isn't worth to have a playmaker in midfield or try to control the ball in general.

I think Arthur is a good start, nobody knows if he will make it here but at least he seems to be a type of player we are lacking. Add another, more proven, player and get Gomes out and never start Paulinho ever again and things in midfield look way better.

Not necessarily Thiago tho, but any player of this type.

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Exactly..I dont want to see Gomes ever either..and i am perfectly fine with Paulinho as a super sub for us.. But Thiago, no thank you..we need someone else..Coutinho needs a bit more defensive discipline to play as one of the 3 in midfield ..

First World Class game I've seen him play. He was immense at the Bernabeu, and that too defensively. At this level he would be ideal for the Barcelona midfield. There were rumours Bayern might let him go for 70m, which is cheap.

giorgoXXI said:

First World Class game I've seen him play. He was immense at the Bernabeu, and that too defensively. At this level he would be ideal for the Barcelona midfield. There were rumours Bayern might let him go for 70m, which is cheap.

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Spot on. First world class game I've seen from him too.

immaculate. Pep killed him when he signed Fabregas. Pep made two fatal mistakes. signing turtle Cesc and replacing eto'o with zlatan.

serghei said:

Spot on. First world class game I've seen from him too.

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Well you should maybe not only watch him in semifinals then. He played very great matches agiainst Arsenal and vs Atletico in the group stage aswell. Also regularly pulls out 10/10 performances in the elague vs the bigger names like Dortmund or Leipzig last year when they were still challenging. He is a brilliant player, I've said this very often, but he isn't gonna drag the team when it's playing shit.

He looked good because Madrid left about 30m between each of their lines. I guarantee rakitic would have looked world class tonight.

However against a bus or when his team needs him in a tough spot, Thiago is not the man.

Great performance. Shame he had a donkey standing in front of him on the pitch.